Lightning Empress, Mistress of Wind
by LeNub
Summary: After failing to graduate from the Academy for the third time, Naruko is finally given the rank of Genin when she captures the about-to-turn-traitor Mizuki. Her career as a Leaf Kunoichi starting after several long years of waiting, and she intends to make up for lost time! The Elemental Nations will soon know the name of Uzumaki Naruko! Older/stronger/smarter Naruko


**(Re uploaded after apparently messing up characters and genres. Whoops!)**

 **After a series of unfortunate events including me needing surgery to my right hand I've been unable to continue the story I started writing over a year ago. While I'm definitely not counting the story as dead per say, it is getting shelved for the time being. (As if it wasn't already *cough*)**

 **I have a terrible habit of forcing myself to write once I get started, particularly after I've posted a chapter. Putting some kind of time pressure on myself which is completely unnecessary, not to mention I end up not being able to come up with anything to write.**

 **For this story I'm going to try and just take my time with each chapter and hope I don't keep people waiting -too- long between updates.**

 **It is going to be a Female Naruto story in which Naruko is sixteen years old upon graduation while the other genin will be 's going to be a few other minor tweaks to ages, but nothing near as big as Naruko's.  
**

 **Unlike cannon Naruto, Naruko will be a lot stronger from the get go with a much steeper rate of improving as well. Though, specially early on, with her own glaring weaknesses. Also, she will be MUCH smarter in this story. As for the pairing, it is not entirely set in stone quite yet but at the same time it's not very likely to change. It's definitely going to be with another woman however, that much is certain.  
**

 **While writing this chapter I noticed that I have certain inconsistencies especially in my terminology. Good example being swapping back and forth between Jiji and old man as I see fit. Not sure why I do this, but it somehow feels right to use one over the other on different moments. It may or may not become a trend, but I will simply go with how it flows for me personally.**

 **Rated M for safety. There will absolutely be some strong language here and there, same with suggestive themes. Anything else.. Who knows!**

 **Hope you enjoy the first chapter and please let me know what you think!**

 **Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto.**

* * *

 **Chapter 1: A Genin at last!  
**

Sixteen year old Naruko sat on one of the roofs opposite the academy building, her legs dangling over the edge with right leg crossed over her left. Right elbow propped up on her knee with her chin resting in her hand. She was wearing dark orange, loose fitting cargo pants and a simple black t-shirt that was a more snug fit than her pants. The fabric curving delicately around her small C-cup bust while reaching to just above the rim of her pants, showing off a slight amount of skin whenever she moved her arms. Rather than the standard blue shinobi sandals worn by practically all students, she wore a pair of black closed-toed ankle boots that had her pants tugged into them. On her hands she wore black finger-less gloves that reached up past her wrists. Her long luscious blonde mane tied back into a high ponytail, her hair flowing behind reaching well past halfway down her back. Her whiskered face framed by two bangs on each side, the smaller tufts of hair failing just over the edge of her eyes and the longer bangs draping down the sides of her face covering most of her ears.

An index finger idly tapped against her cheek she cast a bored glance down at this year's graduates and their parents. This was the third time she failed to graduate and become a Genin now. Or more precise, screwed over by the instructors yet again as they had been prone to do since her very first day at the academy.

With a sigh she watched her latest now-ex-classmates, frowning at most of the girls of this year in particular. The grand majority of them were rabid fan girls, exceptions being only herself and the immensely shy Hyuuga heiress. Nothing but an insult to the name Kunoichi. Closing her eyes for a moment as she lets out another drawn out sigh before opening her eyes again with an unfocused look.

 _'It's been six years since I started here and still they find at least_ **one** _way to get me to fail the graduation exam. And over arguably the most_ **useless** _jutsu too. Any moron can see through a completely stationary, illusionary clone. But noooooo, can't be a Genin if you can't do it. Never mind the fact I simply can't perform the damn jutsu cause it's chakra requirement is just too pathetically low.'_ She mentally ranted to herself. Though she was pretty sure she was making it increasingly difficult for the academy instructors to keep giving her failing grades. _'Maybe I'm just wasting my time..'_ She mused somberly, thinking back on the past six years.

Opposite of what her grades and her thrice failed Genin exam suggested, she wasn't anything close to the failure people labeled her as. For example, she had only lost a single spar in the her three 'final' years even with the sham of a style she was taught. Only getting bad or even failing grades because she didn't properly use the Academy Taijutsu style. Which was difficult, when the proper form was never taught from the start. Kunai and shuriken throwing grades were fairly above average, albeit only because she aimed to get average scores every time. Doing any better than that would only lead to the instructors trying even harder to ensure she wouldn't graduate. At least her written tests were no longer tempered with this last year, courtesy of Umino Iruka actually treating her fairly and making it a lot more difficult for the others to mess with the tests as they had been doing in previous years. He entirely missed the other layers of sabotage she received over the course of the past five years though.

It had been during the second year's summer break when she fully discovered why all the instructors seemed to hate her so much. As well as almost the entirety of the village. It had taken her quite some time, but eventually she realized the truth. She finally was able to put together all the insults thrown her way, some whispered while some had been far less subtle, a little bit of knowledge about village history and a healthy dose of logic thinking. During the Kyuubi attack over sixteen years ago, the Fourth Hokage hadn't actually killed the demon fox. It had been sealed away instead. Inside of her.

The reason why it was sealed inside of her eluded her at first, wondering endlessly why the Fourth would choose an infant. She was able to answer that question for herself quickly enough, deducing that anyone with a developed chakra network could never survive the sealing. But why her? Surely there were other infants to choose from. The answer hit her like a brick wall the next time she saw a picture of the Fourth. The radiant blonde hair, the deep cerulean eyes and even the slightly tanned skin. It was like she was staring at an older, male version of herself!

She never spoke to anyone about any of this, instead choosing to process everything by herself. It took her some time to get a grip on all the rampant thoughts and emotions going through her head constantly. Finding out not only the reason for the village's abuse of her, but that it was her own father that had a hand in it had almost been enough to lose herself. But she kept it together, if only barely. Having decided to keep everything a secret she was forced to deal with it all by herself, spending nearly an entire week crawled up in a corner in her small apartment. In the end she had somewhat come to terms with it, concluding her father must not have had any other choice. The fact he had sacrificed himself seemed to support that. Though that was assuming the only lie in the history lessons was that the Kyuubi was sealed, rather than killed.

When she finally was able to compose herself she braced herself with renewed vigor to meet the hateful stares she received all throughout the village. Her first goal was to find out anything about her mother next. She knew the Fourth's name was Namikaze Minato, so she figured her mother's family name must have been Uzumaki then. Part of her had been resentful to the fact she was apparently not recognized as her father's daughter, but upon thinking more about it she was somewhat glad for it as well. She was sure a powerful man know as the Yellow Flash, who had been a hero during the Third War, must have had many enemies. Specially in Iwa for example. Some of which she might have inherited through his name. It also provided her with a hopefully vital clue to learn about her mother.

Limited as it was, she eventually found what she was looking for. Apparently there had been only a single Uzumaki in the village at the time of the Kyuubi attack. A Konoha Kunoichi by the name of Uzumaki Kushina. There was barely any information available about her, which she supposed made sense since her source was public information and this woman was part of the Ninja Corps. There was, however, a picture available showing Kushina to be a beautiful young woman with equally beautiful long red hair. The very moment she saw the woman in the picture she knew it was her mother. While her eye color, the shade of blonde and the slightly tanned skin was clearly inherited by her father, her facial features were close to a carbon copy of her mother's. Discounting the whisker marks that ran from halfway on her cheeks down to the edges of her face. Without any consideration to much of anything, the blonde had quietly torn the picture out of the booklet and kept it for herself.

While she had no idea what exactly happened on the day she was born, and with no way of getting any more information about it by herself, she was filled with a happiness she had not felt before in her life. The question of who her parents were was finally answered. She felt it in her heart, she was _**not** _ abandoned as had often been a fear of her. Despite having no way to proof it, she held firm to the her own beliefs that her parents loved her. That they quite possibly even sacrificed themselves for her, as well as the village. Placing a huge burden on her in the process, one that had plagued her for as long as she could remember already. But with all she had learned now, she would be able to bare it.

The people's hatred, the instructors' bias to her, the increasingly suspicious Taijutsu lessons away from her peers only to then get destroyed by most of them during spars. It all made sense now. All because they believed her to be the very incarnation of the beast that was sealed within her, the Kyuubi no Yoko. Most of her summer break was spent dealing with everything she had found out. But in the end she came out of it filled with a fierce determination to become a Kunoichi. Not to prove anyone wrong, she couldn't give a damn about what those close-minded idiots thought. Not now that she knew the truth for herself. She did it for _**her**_ , because she wanted to.

However, when classes resumed after the break she stopped putting in as much effort in class, instead taken to train all by herself with whatever crude methods she could think of. Pushing herself to her limits and even past them on a frequent occasion. The results were already starting to show in her third year, becoming easily amongst the strongest in her class. Much to the ire of the instructors, whom increased their efforts of sabotaging her every chance they got. It was after failing the Genin exams a year later, which would lead to being the first time, and starting her second round of the fourth year when she grew a newfound indifference to everything in the academy. She studied up on all the material, and more, in her own time so she could just ignore everything during the few classes she _**wasn't**_ being sent out from. She started holding back, keeping her display of skills around the level she was at during her first failure despite having improved greatly already.

Only during spars is when she showed signs of her dominance over the other students in terms of skill. Even with a faulty, incomplete version of the academy style she stood above the rest, simply due to superior speed and strength. The only one that she hadn't beaten in years was the arrogant prodigy of the Hyuuga clan, Neji. His clan's Byakugan paired with the Juuken picked right through her lousy form and punished her for every fault in her form. Despite winning all her other spars, she still received poor grades for her Taijutsu however, due to constantly 'being open to attack' and a general 'sloppy stance'.

Opinions of her in the eyes of the general populace had steadily been decreasing as well during her years at the academy, for as far as that had been possible. During the second half of the second year, on the day of her twelfth birthday she had been cornered in by a group of civilians. She knew that particular day was a sore spot for many villagers, even among the Ninja Corps, but she found herself unable to care and went out to _**try** _ and score some fairly priced groceries anyway. A group of men intercepted her on the way with scowls across their faces, hurling insults and threats at her. When she tried to push past them, one of the men made to strike her. It wasn't the first time she was attacked by people, but she decided she had enough. This would be the _**last**_ time. The end result was a rush of hospital admissions for all the offenders except for one, who had been 'saved' when a purple haired ANBU with a cat mask jumped in to stop Naruko.

The twelve year old blonde was brought before the Hokage, but not for the punishment many expected her to receive. The elderly man that was like a grandfather to her was more concerned for her well-being instead and wanted to know what happened. Naruko had told him she was sick of all the hate and that she didn't know what she had ever done wrong, having to try her hardest to not wince at the pained look she saw in the Hokage's eyes. As much as it hurt to lie about it, she had decided to keep up the facade of not knowing till she graduated.

Life had become steadily more easy on her after word spread that the 'demon' was now fighting back. Their hate seemed to grow, but at least they left her well enough alone. She could ignore the glares just fine and any establishment that overcharged her, or flat out kicked her out, often got met with a flurry of pranks that ended up crippling their business. The already famous Prankster Queen of Konoha had become outright merciless against her offenders and again word spread fast. Many stores started to begrudgingly serve the blonde. It was better than the alternative.

Time had flown by since learning about the Kyuubi and her parents. Specially after her first time failing the Genin exams, spending all her time either training or studying on her own accord while keeping both her skill and knowledge as much hidden as possible.

Naruko was brought out of her reminiscing as someone landed to her right, instantly aware of who it was even without looking. Her brow setting in a frown as her nose scrunched up a little. _'Oh look. It's my biggest fan yet. Wonder if he's here to gloat.'_ She thought before inclining her head in her hand to glance to the person next to her. Left eyebrow arched upward curiously at his reason for seeking her out.

"I'm sorry for having you witness another class graduating without you, Naruko." The figure said with faked sincerity. He had silver hair hanging a little above his shoulders and was dressed in the standard Chunin outfit. It was one of her class' two instructors of this year, Toji Mizuki.

A slight shrug of her shoulders was the only response Naruko gave the man as she looked back to the scene in front of the academy. Try to hide it as he might, she was well aware of this man hating her guts as much as the next idiot and felt no desire to acknowledge his fake sympathy for her.

The Chunin sneered at the blonde as she looked away from him so dismissively. _'You arrogant little..'_ Forcing down his disgust for the demon in front of him he schooled his features before speaking up again with a faked kind tone. "Hey listen, there is another way to become a Genin. It's a rather unusual method, but I recommended you because I have faith in you."

This grabbed Naruko's attention as she lifted her head up from her head to look at Mizuki more directly, eyes widened slightly in surprise. "Another way? What would that be, Mizuki-sensei?" She asked neutrally, trying her hardest not to narrow her eyes at the man. Why would this man, of all people, want to help _**her**_? Clearly he was up to something, but she would at least hear him out.

"It's a special kind of test that's not been used in a long time. It doesn't take the academy grades into consideration, only the success or failure of this particular test. If you can obtain the Scroll of Sealing from within the Hokage Tower and learn at least one jutsu from it before the day ends, you will have earned yourself the right to become a Genin." Mizuki finished while fighting down a menacing grin that threatened to split his face. Absurd as it was, somehow this girl had been outsmarting and slipping past ANBU members constantly during those stupid pranks of hers. Letting her steal the scroll for him was the perfect idea!

Groaning inwardly at how obvious he was being about what was clearly a set up, she gave her biggest fake smile anyway as she pretended to fall for his 'clever' ploy. Widening her eyes and straightening up as she leaned to Mizuki slightly. "Really? If I get that scroll and learn a jutsu from it I become a Genin?" She asked with a sliver of 'hope' and 'excitement'.

Mizuki cackled in his head as the blonde took the bait. "That's right. You do that before the day is over and you pass, becoming an official Genin of Konoha! What do you say?"

The blonde give a firm nod to the man. "I'll gladly accept the chance to complete this test, Mizuki-sensei."

And with that, she turned back and dropped her chin into her hand once more as she stared off into the distance. Not making any notion to move at all, much to Mizuki's bafflement. He didn't know what to make of her initial excitement only to sit here and do nothing. "Uhm.. I did mention you only have till the end of the day, yes? I wouldn't waste time if I were you." He said unsurely. Did the damn demon wench see through him? _'No, impossible. That bitch is just being difficult again.'_

"Ahh, but it's still rather early Mizuki-sensei. I'm sure that scroll will be pretty well guarded, so my chances are much better if I wait for a little while. After dusk, for example. Less daylight, less people on the streets." Was the neutral response from Naruko as she went over this test in her head. It was pretty obvious he was bullshitting her. There was no way a test like this possibly existed. She just couldn't figure out his motives for wanting her to steal that scroll. To frame her for it's theft, or something else entirely?

The silver-haired Chunin frowned at her response, having expected at least _**some**_ enthusiasm from the girl. "That's a good idea, Naruko. I will leave you to it then, I have full faith you will pass this test. Good luck!" He struggled to keep up his cheerful facade. After that he leapt away from the roof she sat on, leaving her to her thoughts.

 _'You really must think I'm stupid, Mizuki. I could go to the old man right now and you could quite possibly be in deep shit. But I think I'll play your game first, see what you're really up to.'_ Naruko mused to herself. This Scroll of Sealing must be quite special and she found herself rather curious to the jutsu on it. She was pretty sure the Chunin was simply unable to steal that scroll himself, or didn't want to risk even attempting. So letting someone else do it, say someone who was notorious for escaping the clutches of ANBU constantly while terrorizing the village with her pranks, and then pin the blame on that person while making off with the scroll was probably his best alternative. That, or he was simply using this as an excuse to try and kill her. Get rid of the demon bitch and all that.

She mulled over her options for some time. This fake test actually provided her a chance to potentially learn a useful jutsu. And if Mizuki was in fact planning to betray Konoha, she would need proof of his intentions. A vicious smirk spread across her lips as she began to plan out her late-night activities. What better proof than to catch that bastard in the act? He'd probably boast about tricking her, arrogant prick that he was. All she needed was a recorder and she'd be set. And finally of course, beat the crap out of that bastard!

Snickering gleefully to herself she kept staring at the horizon, content with just remaining on this roof until it was time for her to act. If she pulled this off right, she might just take advantage of this fake test and impress the old man enough to assign her the rank of Genin anyway. _'Would be about damn time too. Just gotta hope Jiji will be in a forgiving mood for stealing the scroll in the first place.'_

A genuine smile formed at the idea of finally circumventing the sabotaging instructors and starting her career as a Kunoichi.

* * *

 **Later that evening**

The village of Konoha was on high alert. Or more precisely, it's Ninja Corps was. The majority of Chunin, Jonin and ANBU had been given a single assignment. Tracking down one Uzumaki Naruko, who had stolen the Scroll of Sealing and made off with it. The implications sending most present into a fit of paranoia as the blonde could quite possibly unseal the Kyuubi unwittingly.

The orders from the Third Hokage were to find the girl and bringing her, and the scroll, before him. Amongst the gathered Shinobi there were few with other plans for if they found her. The demon had finally crossed a line, giving them a perfect excuse to get rid of it once and for all. Just say she attacked and that it was self defense, it was perfect!

One of these few was Toji Mizuki, cackling inwardly as his plan was working perfectly. Now all he had to do was find that demon brat, dispose of her and make his escape. He'd have far too much of a head start by the time they learn what happened.

Meanwhile, a certain blonde had retreated deep into one of the forests along the very edges of the village. It was in this very clearing here where she had been doing most of her training in the past, certain no one ever spotted her here. She was well on her way to mastering the first jutsu that was on the scroll. The Kage Bunshin. At first she almost dismissed it because of her longstanding grudge with the regular Bunshin jutsu, but after reading on she quickly changed her mind. There seemed to be a lot more about this clone jutsu than she thought at first glance. The fact it seemed to have a very high chakra requirement to use cemented this fact and also made her a lot more comfortable in her chances to pull it off.

It took her barely an hour to figure it out and already felt confident in pulling off the Kage Bunshin without fail. She was currently working on the second version of the jutsu that focused entirely on a mass creation of the shadow clones. This one was a bit more tricky as even a single clone had a large chakra cost, creating too many due to either lack of control or just putting to much into it would have some very devastating effects. That being said, she didn't feel even remotely close to running out of chakra.

Her attention was pulled away from her practice when a figure approached her with a brisk pace. She looked up form the scroll to see her other instructor of this past year, Umino Iruka, walking up to her, a frown on his scarred face. He too wore the standard Chunin outfit, like most of his colleagues did. Hair pulled up into a short ponytail.

Naruko couldn't help but stare in genuine surprise for a moment as the man stood in front of her. She was definitely not expected to be found yet, if at all! "I-Iruka-sensei, how the hell did you find me?!"

Crossing his arms across his chest, Iruka had to fight down a smug smirk as he guessed right about her choice of location. She had made vague offhand remarks before about where she usually trained and that it was 'away from unwanted eyes'. All he really did was guess correctly and get lucky however. Schooling his features to glare down at the still sitting blonde he spoke up sternly. "Do you have any idea how much trouble you're in, Naruko? What could have possibly possessed you to steal that scroll?! Even without Genin status you could be tried for treason over this!"

The blonde took a brief moment to recompose herself from the initial shock of being found so quickly, not meeting the man's eyes quite yet. _'Guess I didn't get to catch Mizuki in the act after all. Ah well, time to try and bullshit my way out of this!'_ She mused inwardly while putting on the best look of confusion she could muster and looked up to Iruka. "W-what do you mean?! Mizuki-sensei told me that if I could get my hands on this scroll and learn at least one jutsu from it I could finally graduate and become a Genin!" She spoke in a frantic voice, perfectly faking her panic.

"Mizuki... said that?" Iruka questioned as his eyes widened. Why would Mizuki lie to this girl about something like that? _'What is going on here?'_

The two were interrupted as someone landed on a tree branch close to them. A wide grin on his face as he stared down at the pair from his crouched position. A pair of fuma shuriken strapped to his back. "Aha, I knew following you would be a good idea Iruka. Good job finding her!" Mizuki said almost ecstatically. With only Iruka here this would be easy, after all he was the stronger of the two.

The scar faced Chunin turned around to his friend and colleague with a shocked expression, never having seen such a look on Mizuki's face before. "Mizuki! What is the meaning of this?! Lying to Naruko about this being some kind of test!" He yelled up at the silver haired man.

Next to him Naruko was already rolling up the scroll again and stood up, stepping in front of it to put herself between it and Mizuki. She kept quiet for the time being, waiting to see how this would go. With Iruka here, someone who was one of the few that showed her no hatred over the Kyuubi, she was confident that she couldn't somehow still get pinned with any blame by anyone.

"Can't you tell, Iruka? I'm sick of this disgusting village and everything in it! The demon was nice enough to grace me by bringing me my farewell present! You have my compliments for that, Naruko!" Mizuki spoke loudly, arrogance at his successful ploy evident in his voice. His face then contorted into a sadistic grin as he looked over to the blonde. "How about as a reward I tell you all about this village's dirty little secret? I bet you're dying to know why this whole village seems to hate you for no reason, huh?"

With eyes wide as saucers Iruka took a step forward and scream at Mizuki, breaking out in cold sweat at what the Chunin was about to reveal to Naruko. "No, stop it Mizuki!"

Naruko was doing her best to stare between the two with a shocked expression, fully aware what this traitor was about to 'reveal' to her. She was practically snarling at the man in her mind for what 'revelation' he was intending to drop on her. _'Filthy bastard... Do your worst, asshole. Spew your poison while you can.' S_ he angrily thought.

If it were possible Mizuki's grin would have grown even bigger at the reactions he got from the pair down on the ground. Laughing loudly before continuing. "See? He doesn't want you to find out, he's scared! Even the Hokage doesn't want you to know, that's why he made it an S-class secret! It all started sixteen years ago, the day the Kyuubi attacked!"

"MIZUKI THAT'S ENOUGH!"

Completely ignoring the Chunin he continued speaking directly to the wide eyed blonde. "You see, even our beloved Fourth Hokage wasn't able to kill that blasted demon. So instead he chose to seal it away into the one child that was born that day! You! That is why everyone hates you, Naruko! It's all because you're the Kyuubi who took so many of our loved ones away! Even Iruka here hates your guts!"

Iruka couldn't help but look down in shame at Mizuki's words. He was right, for a long time he too loathed this blonde girl. But the Hokage had helped him look past that and when he took the effort to try and get to know her, he there was a lot of great things about her. He was about to tell her exactly that when his thoughts were brought to a grinding halt as he heard the blonde next to him loudly snort in amusement. Turning to look at her he stumbled in shock at how neutral her face was, like she wasn't even fazed.

Taking a moment to enjoy the look of utter disbelief from both men as she gave little to no reaction to Mizuki's little speech. Crossing her arms below her bust she allowed her lips to curl into a grin. "Correct me if I'm wrong here... But wouldn't the proper term be Jinchuuriki rather than labeling me as the demon itself?" Naruko said evenly, though she could not hide her amusement from her face even if she tried.

Both men just gaped at her, utterly speechless at that completely unexpected reaction. Only Mizuki managed to eventually get anything close to words out of his mouth. "W-wha..?"

"Wha indeed! Did you people really think I'm _**that**_ much of an idiot? I've known about the Kyuubi for _**years**_ now, dip shit! It's seriously like the worst kept S-class secret in history." She shot at Mizuki in an increasingly mocking tone as she glared up at Mizuki who was slowly starting to tremble in what she could only assume was rage.

Before either of them could get any word in however, she continued with an outright vicious smirk smeared across her face. She'd been waiting for this moment for a long time! This bastard was one of the main instigators against her in the academy and now she finally could get some payback! "I have to think you though, I never would've thought to go and steal something like the Scroll of Sealing! You gave me _**exactly**_ what I needed to finally beat the ever living shit out of you!" Naruko then quickly ran through a short series of hand-seals ending with her holding a cross sign with her hands. " **Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!** " She yelled loudly as the entire forest around them was filled with smoke.

Iruka and Mizuki both gasped at the name of the jutsu Naruko called out and the absurd amount of smoke it created. The silver haired Chunin breaking out in cold sweat at the implications of so much smoke. His fears soon coming to reality as the forest was filled with a bizarre amount of clones. _'T-there must be hundreds at least! HOW IS SHE ABLE TO CREATE THAT MANY?!'_ He screamed internally as he started to look around in a panic.

The original that still stood next to Iruka took several steps forward, sadistic glee written all over her face as she watched the traitor panic on his spot in the tree. "I've been waiting for the chance to do this for a looooong time, you bastard. I sincerely wish for the remainder of your life..to be in pain! GIRLS, KICK HIS ASS!"  
And with that, all the clones started to move towards Mizuki who could only scream in panic before he was forced to defend himself. His position high up in the tree gave him an advantage and he was able to get rid of several clones before he was eventually knocked down from the branch. The moment his feet touched the ground his world exploded in pain as he was jumped on from every possible direction all at once. The forest becoming filled with nothing but the pained screams of one Toji Mizuki.

As he watched one of the most brutal beatings he ever witnessed, a pale Iruka slowly turned to Naruko who was looking like she was watching the most satisfying thing. A shudder ran through his body as he quickly made a mental note to _**never**_ piss this blonde off. When he finally found his voice again he stepped forward and put a hand on his student's shoulder. "Naruko, a-are you okay?"

Tensing visibly for a moment by the sudden hand on her shoulder, she quickly calmed down and looked over her shoulder at Iruka. A small smile crept onto her face as she gave the man a slow nod. The clones were already starting to dispel themselves en masse, Mizuki having lost consciousness halfway into the beating. "Mh, I'm good Iruka-sensei. I can handle this many clones just fine."

* * *

Unbeknownst to the two people still standing, there was one more figure present at the clearing having overseen all that occurred here. A lone ANBU agent with a cat mask was hiding behind one of the trees behind the pair, masking her presence from them. She had in fact already been here before Iruka, keeping well out of sight of anyone. Rather than jumping out to catch the girl right away she instead decided to keep watching the blonde, try and figure out what had gotten into her to steal the scroll. She hadn't seen much of her in the past couple years, but she couldn't imagine Naruko having changed so much as to have any ill-intent. So she waited and observed.

And as the whole scene played out before her she had to keep herself reigned in. Shaking in barely restraint anger as the silver haired traitor not only appeared to have set Naruko up with some fake kind of test, but he even had the _**audacity**_ to spring that information on her like that! Even going as far as outright calling her the Kyuubi itself. She had been about to jump in and silence that fool by force, not able to fully contain herself any long. It was Naruko's reaction however that stopped her dead in her tracks. _'S-she's known? For how long?'_ Neko thought at that moment, wondering why the blonde kept quiet about it all this time.

At this point she couldn't help but stand down and watch this play out. She would step in to take Mizuki down if needed, but it seemed like Naruko was more than happy to do it herself. And she found herself curious to see if she could. What happened next rendered her unable to keep herself in check as she audibly gasped at the insane amount of shadow clones that were just created. Even a small fraction of that would be enough to floor most Jonin, yet this girl seemed to be completely fine! Upon recomposing herself she did take some small satisfaction in hearing the pitiful cries from the man in the middle of all those clones. A more than well deserved beating.

When all the clones finally dispelled after beating the Chunin to a bloody mess she decided it was time she stepped in. She flared up her chakra to signal her comrades as she shunshin'd into the clearing, instantly gaining the attention from the teacher and student. Chuckling lightly in her head at the sudden nervous look from the blonde.

A gasp passed Naruko's lips as she stared at the new arrival, instantly recognizing the mask. She used to see this particular ANBU agent fairly often years ago, when the Hokage still deemed it necessary for her to have someone guarding her. The most frequent, and the nicest one too, to guard her was in front of her now. Not to mention she was the only one amongst the ANBU that repeatedly caught her after one of her pranks. And boy, she could be lot more stern than the old man! She would be happy to see her again, if not for the quick realization that she was currently being hunted down. Sweating slightly as she lazily waved at the ANBU, a sheepish smile on her face. "N-Neko-san, hi. I uhh, I can explain."

Blinking in surprise at the sudden nervousness of his student, Iruka couldn't help but chuckle before he stepped up to address the ANBU before them. "This isn't what it looks like, Neko-san. Naruko here was tricked by-" he was cut off by the purple haired woman as she rose her hand to interrupt him.

"I saw and heard what happened Umino-san, no need to explain. I'm simply here to recover the stolen scroll. And of course escort this young lady here to the Hokage. My comrades should be here shortly to take that traitor into custody." Neko said evenly, inwardly pleased at the slight twitch she got out of the blonde. Good to know she still had it.

* * *

 **Ten minutes later**

Naruko and Neko arrived at the Hokage's office, whom was currently leveling a stern gaze at the blonde while taking small puffs from his pipe. The blonde was scratching her neck a little while sending the man a sheepish smile. Neko stood next to her with her arms crossed, the mask hiding the rather amused smirk on her face. She had a pretty good idea of how this was going to play out. Most likely ending with the troublemaker walking out scot free.

"Thank you Neko. Please step outside while I talk to Naruko here." The Hokage said evenly before sending subtle glances around his office that only Naruko herself missed.

Neko nodded at her leader and shunshin'd out of the office, followed by three others doing the same with only a barely audible whoosh of air. This time Naruko did notice though she chose not to comment on it. She watched the old leader of the village make a single sign with his hands, activating the office's privacy seal. A completely innocent grin forming as she raised her hand in greeting. "Hey old man."

Sarutobi Hiruzen let out a sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose as she so easily cracked his stern exterior. He never was able to stay angry at the girl for very long, even with her particular relentless streak of pranks some years ago. Opening his eyes again he found the blonde waiting patiently for him with an entirely too innocent look in her eyes. _'Cheeky brat..'_ He mused with some mirth.

"You really have a penchant for getting into trouble young lady. But I'm sure you know that already."

Shrugging her shoulders Naruko smirked at the old man. "Meh, at least this time it wasn't my fault. It was that bastard with his bullshit story of a 'test' he conjured up." She scowled slightly when she made a mention to Mizuki.

With a chuckle the Hokage took his pipe from his lips and leaned forward a little. "Bullshit story, hmm? Sounds to me like you were well aware of this test being fake from the start."

"Ahh.." Naruko exclaimed as she realized she gave herself away, dropping her head with a small sigh. "..Shit." She was sure she'd be getting a scolding over that little fact, justified as it was. Scratching her cheek with her right index finger she shifted on her feet nervously, sheepishly smiling at her grandfatherly figure. "Sorry?"

Sweat dropping slightly at the dry response from the girl, Hiruzen had to resist the urge to face palm. At least she had the decency to show _**some**_ guilt, meager though it seemed to be. Another sigh passed his lips as he frowned at the blonde. "We'll leave that particular issue aside for the time being. Now why did you not come to me with this instead?" He said sternly. There would be enough of an uproar over this even without the knowledge Naruko did this fully aware of the situation. Though there really wasn't enough of a case against her.

Naruko scoffed at the question and crossed her arms, meeting his stern gaze with a defiant glare of her own. "And do what? I thought about doing that at first, really I did. But what were you gonna do ultimately? Bring him in for a few questions and send him off with a slap on the wrist? I'm sure your Civilian Council would somehow invalidate my claim of Mizuki's deceit. Probably something along the lines of ''The demon bitch being pissy after failing to graduate _**again**_ '' or shit like that. Hell, they wouldn't even be wrong!" She said, taking a deep breathe to calm herself down.

Hiruzen couldn't help but flinch at the blonde's blunt statement of the Council's stance towards her, begrudgingly admitting to himself she wasn't all that far off. Finding out she had known about the Kyuubi for some time now also saddened him greatly. He had seen it all in his crystal ball and his initial anger at Mizuki had been completely dissipated by the girl's response.

"I decided to play along instead and catch him in the act somehow. Even had an audio recorder on me for that, which I ended up not needing at all. Didn't expect Iruka-sensei to find where I was hiding so soon though, but now that I think about it I may have offhandedly mentioned that spot at some point." Naruko eventually continued. Her face losing most of her anger as a small smile made it's way back to her lips. "Worked out in the end I'd say. Learning a really great jutsu along the line was a big bonus. As well as a tool to get back at Mizuki. Well two jutsu technically, I guess."

A proud smile tugged at Hiruzen's lips as he listened to Naruko's explanation. Reckless as it was in his opinion, she had clearly planned out on how provide indisputable proof of Mizuki's betrayal. It also both raised and answered a slew of questions he'd been having regarding the girl. Or more precisely, about the academy reports about her. He'd been suspecting foul play for some time, but was never able to get any hard evidence for it. Based on how she had seen through the lies of an experienced Chunin and how she handled the whole ordeal, not to even mention how swiftly she apparently learned two forbidden jutsu from that scroll, it was clear as day to him that she had been holding back. Mentally scolding himself for not realizing that sooner, she could have long been a Genin by now at the very least.

"While I still don't fully approve of your going ahead and stealing the scroll, impressive a feat as it was to start, you uncovered and captured a traitor all by yourself. You did Konoha a great service today, not to mention made it quite clear that you do not belong in that academy. I'm very proud of you, my dear." He spoke in a soft, grandfatherly tone while opening his left drawer and took out a standard Leaf Hitai-ate and tossed it at the stunned girl. "I know it is far over due, but you're now an official Genin of Konoha Naruko. Congratulations."

Listening to the old man's praise cause a light blush to appear on her cheeks while her lips curled into a small, genuine smile. She almost didn't catch the object flung at her as his words registered in her hear. Teeth biting down on her lower lip for a moment as she stared down at the Hitai-ate in her hands. "J-Jiji.." she muttered before meeting his gaze, her eyes shining with a happiness they did not show often. Taking some more time looking down at the Hitai-ate in her hands before raising placing it on her forehead and tied it behind her head, rearranging her blonde mane to finish the process. "Thank you." She finished with a bow of her head.

"Please raise your head, Naruko. I should be apologizing to you instead for my oversight of what seems to have occurred at the academy regarding you. But for now, grab a chair and take a seat. There's still something else I would like to discuss with you." Hiruzen said gently, making a mental note to run a thorough investigation of the academy teachers in the near future.

Nodding once she grabbed one of the chairs along the sides of the office and planted it in front of the Hokage's desk. Sitting down on it and crossing her legs as she folded her arms under her bust. "Mh.. I'm pretty sure of the topic. The Kyuubi, right?" she said with a more sober tone. While the fact of being the container itself stopped bothering her a long time ago, she still felt a small amount of guilt for hiding it from the man that was like a grandfather to her. She never felt like she made a wrong choice with it, but the guilt had risen within her on occasion.

"I was going to tell you when you graduated the academy and started your career as a Kunoichi. It seems I have made a number of big errors in the past years and I can't tell you how much I regret them." The Hokage said with a downtrodden look in his eyes. He truly felt like he failed the girl, first in allowing the unfair treatment at the academy to run it's course and again with not telling her about the Kyuubi. Letting her find out, and deal with, it all by herself. And that was not even mentioning the village's treatment towards her. He looked her deep in the eyes as he continued. "How long have you know?"

Okay, now she definitely felt the guilt hit her threefold upon watching the old man practically deflate from his sorrow. She couldn't deny that he had messed up though, but she had absolutely no desire to rub that in at all. Any resentment she felt in the past was behind her. Any that was aimed at her grandfatherly figure at least.

"It's fine, Jiji. Everyone makes mistakes, besides you have an entire village to run. You're busy enough as it is without having to take the time to take care of a single orphan. I'm sure the Council didn't help either."

Her voice was soft and filled with warmth, a tone the Hokage knew not many had heard from the blonde. He felt relief wash over him to hear that she didn't appear to hold a particular grudge against him. It would have been fully justified if she had.

"As for when I figured it out, it was during the summer break before my twelfth birthday." she continued in a more neutral tone as she briefly thought back to those turbulent weeks in which she can definitely say her life changed. At least for herself. "It was difficult at first I admit. Hell, I remember not leaving my apartment for days." _'Though that was not just because of the Kyuubi revelation I had.'_ she mentally added. "But it answered a lot of questions that had been stuck in my head for ages. At least now I knew the reason behind the treatment I received. Which is what indirectly lead to that incident on my twelfth birthday. They can glare at me all they want, call me names in hushed voices thinking I can't hear them but I wasn't about to stand there and not defend myself any longer." She finished with a slight edge in her voice. She loved the village itself, she did. It was her home after all. But she had little love for it's general populace after everything they put her through.

Hiruzen detected the edge in the new Genin when she talked about the civilians. It was clear she carried with her a lot of resentment to the people of Konoha, it was a shame but he understood completely. There had been a few times in the past where he too was feeling a strong dislike for the very people he protected, every one of those times directly relating to the blonde in front of him. They most certainly deserved her ire. "I am truly sorry you had to go through all that by yourself, Naruko. I can not even begin to imagine how difficult it must have been."

"Mh.. It was. Wasn't exactly the best summer break I ever had." she replied with some humor. "But it was some of, if not _**the**_ most important couple of weeks of my life so far. Everything changed for me that summer with the end result being pretty much who I am today." She sweat dropped slightly at the end of it and dipped her head down into a face palm. Muttering quietly, only barely audible. "Damn, that sounded _**way** _ more tacky than I would like it to be!"

A mirthful chuckling sounded from the aged village leader at the antics of the blonde in front of him. "Now, now.. I don't think it was all that tacky. In fact, it's simply the truth as it helped define you as a person." Hiruzen replied, taking another big puff from his pipe.

Naruko, however, only latched on to one part of what he said and looked up with a cheeky grin that threatened to split her face in two. "Yeah, but you're an old fart! Saying a bunch of tacky shit without considering it to be is practically a requirement at your age!" She almost instantly fired towards the man behind the desk. Beaming in victory as he erupted in a fit of coughing, small amounts of smoke escaping his mouth repeatedly.

In the midst of his coughing fit Hiruzen only half succeeded in glaring back at the girl, supporting himself with one hand on his desk. "C-cheeky.." he wheezed out between coughs. "..brat." he finally finished when he stopped coughing, leaving him panting of air. "Oi, don't die on me here old man." Naruko cheerfully told him as she beamed in her victory, not the slightest hint of remorse on her face.

With a couple of slow, steady breaths the Hokage finally straightened back into his chair all the while mumbling to himself about youngsters and no respect for the elders. Leveling a weak glare at the girl across from him, which he noted did not affect her in the slightest. A small grin began to form instead as he spoke firmly. "Old fart, huh?" He started, drawing Naruko's attention. "So, about your punishment for stealing the Scroll of Sealing tonight."

The effect was immediate as Naruko raised her hands in a placating gesture, nervously gazing back at the man. "Oi oi, it was just a joke old man. No need for any of that, surely." The blonde said quickly, not wanting to be on the receiving end of village leader's ire. He didn't deal out a punishment to her very often, but when he did... Well, they were generally still very mild if she were completely honest. She just really didn't want to have to deal with it.

"Yes, I'm sure that it was." The Sarutobi replied completely deadpan.

A comfortable silence reigned between the two for several moments until Hiruzen eventually broke it. It amazed him how seemingly effortlessly turned the whole atmosphere around. However, there was still one more topic he wanted to discuss with the blonde. "Now that you've so effective derailed our conversation I would like to bring us back on topic. Team placements in particular." He told the Genin, having to suppress a chuckle as she cocked her head to the right a little with a look in her eyes that practically screamed 'Yeah, so?'. "I'm sure you're aware that the graduates are divided into teams of three plus a Jonin sensei. Which raises a small but not uncommon issue concerning the number of this year's graduates, including you." The Hokage continued, seeing realization dawn upon the blonde.

Said blonde frowned at what her grandfatherly figure seemed to be insinuating with that statement. "Twenty-eight. So there's gonna be an odd one out." She said, narrowing her eyes. "And since you brought the matter up, it's pretty safe to assume that **_I_ ** am that single one. So what are you implying exactly?" Naruko added, crossing her arms again while leveling the old man with a glare. She did not like the idea of not being assigned to a team. And she sure as hell _**refused**_ to go back to that damned academy after she was just given her Hitai-ate.

Raising one hand to calm her down he took a puff from his pipe with the other, unfazed by her heated reaction. "Allow me to explain, Naruko. I already had certain teams in mind even before today's exam. One being a traditional team set-up for which none of the three spots really apply to you, specially with your alternative way of graduating." Hiruzen replied calmly.

Looking thoughtful for a moment, Naruko took a moment to consider the Hokage's words. "That traditional set-up refers to putting the Genin and Kunoichi of the Year on the same team together with the lowest scoring graduate, right? I assume another team you have in mind would be the second coming of the Ino-Shika-Cho trio because, well, duh." She began, listing off her thoughts to the probable team set-ups. Not really paying attention to the widening of eyes from the Hokage.

"So now you have two high profile teams already, may as well go all the way and stack the remaining three heirs from some of Konoha's most prominent clans into a third high profile team. Who just so happen to mesh very nicely into the makings of a solid tracking squad. Leaving the remaining eighteen students who are, quite frankly, unlikely to accomplish anything particularly grand in their careers. Hell, probably would be bad on a political level to put the heirs of some esteemed clans on a less talent-filled team. And then there's me, the village pariah who wouldn't really fit in either of the remaining six teams anyway." Naruko finished calmly. When she thought about it, provided she was correct, those teams did make a lot of sense. Which only left her more curious as to what the old man had in mind for her.

Sarutobi Hiruzen, having earned himself the moniker "God of Shinobi" during his long career as a Shinobi, was completely speechless. Flabbergasted even. This girl-no, this young woman, he could not in clear conscious think of her as a girl any longer. This young lady before him had in just a short moment of thought deduced the team assignments he had made flawlessly. Even if it may not have been that terribly hard to figure out, for a fresh Genin like her it was still very impressive. Once more it was made clear to him that Naruko had been keeping her real potential very well hidden even from him.

Taking a moment to recollect himself he smiled proudly. "That is.. entirely correct. Very impressive, my dear. Though I do wish you wouldn't refer to yourself in such a fashion." He frowned at the end. Even if that was how she was viewed by many, he really did not like her talking about herself like that.

"Meh, it's true though." Naruko replied instantly with a shrug of her shoulders. Not paying too much mind to the praise from her grandfatherly figure unlike earlier. "I'm still having a hard time figuring out what will happen to me though. Am I being put on an already existing Genin team or something?" She asked. The idea of being put on a slightly more experienced, and older, team wasn't actually all that bad.

The Hokage shook his head. "No, you will not be filling in any slots that may have opened in any existing teams either. Some arrangements will need to be made for you in the coming week. And I am quite certain you will be quite happy with said arrangements. You will find out on the day of team placements." He explained calmly. There was really only one factor that needed to be ascertained but he was not worried over it in the slightest.

An eyebrow arched upward as she regarded the man behind his desk. "Some arrangements, you say? That's not vague at all." Naruko grinned playfully before something else popped up in her mind and she smiled sheepishly. "Speaking of team placements, by the way.. _**When**_ is that exactly?"

Hiruzen blinked. "A week from now, 10 a.m. You didn't know?" He asked with some confusion on his face.

"Well gee, I'm sorry old man. Wasn't exactly informed about it those three times I didn't graduate." Naruko deadpanned.

He slapped a hand to his face, a sweat drop hanging off the side of his head. "Right. Of course."

A massive grin exploded on the blonde's face as even her eyes seemed to be cackling. "Going senile already old man? Or maybe missed your afternoon nap-time? It's okay, I understand. It's been a hectic evening for someone your age." She teased.

Only grumbling could be heard coming from the Hokage. Complaining about cheeky brats having no respect, pointedly ignoring the not-so-subtle snickering as apparently said brat could hear him just fine. Pinching the bridge of his nose he let out a deep sigh of resignation. "I suppose it _**is**_ rather late." He mumbled out loud.

Still chuckling at the old man Naruko hopped off the chair and languidly stretched her back with a groan. "Yep, sure is. I'm sure you still got plenty to deal with after tonight, so unless you needed to discuss anything else I'll head home now." She told the man with a smile, quite done with the teasing. For now.

Returning the smile at the young lady he thought of as his granddaughter he gave her a nod. Moving his hands into a hand-seal to lift the privacy seal. "Don't let this busy old man hold you up any longer, my dear. In a week you finally begin your career as a Kunoichi of the Leaf, so rest well. Have a good night, Naruko." Hiruzen spoke softly.

"Pfft, screw that. That's a whole week of free time for training!" She grinned in response, moving over towards she door. With a hand on the knob she glanced back over her shoulder, smiling at the man. "Good night, Jiji!" And with that, she stepped out and closed the door. Once outside the office, she pump her right arm victoriously. _'Hah! He forgot punishment!'_

* * *

Inside of the office. It didn't take the old Hokage long to return to work, intending to at least finish the paperwork regarding the past few hours. When he finished roughly ten minutes later he leaned back into his chair. With that done there was only one more matter he wanted to take care of right away. "Neko." He called out to the seemingly empty office, his ANBU already back in their places after Naruko left.

The cat-masked ANBU flashed into view, kneeling in front of the Hokage. "Yes, Hokage-sama?" She answered, curious to what her leader wanted with her.

"Please, stand." He said, taking a moment to regard the female ANBU as she rose to her feet. She was still fairly young considering her position but was also one of his most trusted agents. She was definitely the best choice. "Now please remove your mask." He ordered her in a gentle tone.

Doing as told, she removed her cat mask revealing a beautiful face with angular features. Her purple hair framing her face now with the mask removed. Staring directly at her leader now, waiting for him to continue.

"I have an offer for you, Yugao. It is entirely up to you whether or not you accept, though I feel you quite confident you will happily accept." Hiruzen spoke frankly, not clueing the woman in on his intentions.

Her eyebrows raised up in surprise, not sure what this offer could possibly be. Nor why she was apparently chosen for it. She inclined her head a little as she replied. "What's the offer, Hokage-sama?"

"You've served in the ANBU for a long time, starting from a young age. I won't dare question your resolve, but I am sure you missed out on many aspects of life. Therefor, my offer is to have you officially reinstated into the general Ninja Corps. As an Elite Jounin.

Eyes widened in response to the man's words. His offer was for her to step down from the ANBU Black Ops? But why? It took her several moments until it suddenly dawned on her. Yugao spotted the smile forming on the village leader's face as he was clearly noted her little epiphany. "If my guess about this offer is correct, then I will gladly accept." Her reply was still formal, but a genuine smile began to curl her lips upward.

Hiruzen nodded. "Wonderful. I had hoped you would." He spoke in a grandfatherly voice before returning to a more firm tone as he continued. "Then, Uzuki Yugao, you are hereby officially reinstated as an Elite Jounin of Konoha. As of a week from now, you will be the Jonin sensei for one Uzumaki Naruko. Train her well."


End file.
